Abstract
Seedlings of yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britton) and sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) were grown for 2 years in mono-culture and mixed-culture and at three fertility levels. Following the second growing season, senescent leaves were analysed for N concentration, acid hydrolysable substances (AHS), and nonhydrolysable remains (NHR). A litter sub-sample was then inoculated with indigenous soil microflora, incubated 14 weeks, and mass loss was measured. Litter-N was significantly higher at medium than at poor fertility, as well as in yellow birch than in sugar maple litter. The species effect on litter-N increased with increasing fertility. At medium fertility, litter-N of sugar maple litter was lower in mixed-culture than in mono-culture. AHS, NHR as well the NHR/N ratio were significantly higher in yellow birch than in sugar maple litter. At medium fertility, the NHR/N ratio of sugar maple litter was significantly lower in mono-culture than in mixed-culture. Mass loss was significantly greater at medium and rich fertility than at poor fertility, and in yellow birch than in sugar maple litter. At poor fertility, mixed-litter decomposed at a rate comparable to yellow birch, whereas at medium and rich fertility, mixed-litter decomposed at a rate comparable to sugar maple. There was a significant positive relationship between litter-N and mass loss. A similar positive relationship between NHR and mass loss was presumed to be a “species” effect on decomposition. Results support the hypothesis that species × fertility and species × mixture interactions can be important determinants of litter quality and, by implication, of site nutrient cycling.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to D. Gasser, B. Lapointe, M. Lavoie, J. Lamontagne, B. Lafleur and L-M. Thériault for technical assistance, as well as to one anonymous reviewer for his valued comments. We thank the DOMTAR Paper Products company for authorising access to the research site from which soil was collected. The study was funded by research grants awarded to the corresponding author by the Ministère des ressources naturelles du Québec–Fonds forestier, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Fonds pour la Formation de chercheurs et aide à la recherche (FCAR).
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Sommerville, D., Bradley, R. & Mailly, D. Leaf litter quality and decomposition rates of yellow birch and sugar maple seedlings grown in mono-culture and mixed-culture pots at three soil fertility levels. Trees 18, 608–613 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-004-0354-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-004-0354-7